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Perfect season: Judges beat James Wood to remain undefeated
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By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- tkeeler@nvdaily.com
WINCHESTER -- Everything clicked for Handley senior quarterback Geremi Long on Saturday, especially in the first half.
Long led the Judges on three touchdown drives to get an early lead and Handley's defense did the rest. The Judges held off James Wood in the second half for an 18-10 Northwestern District victory. It was Handley's 17th consecutive regular season win and completed a perfect 10-0 year as the Judges prepare for the playoffs.
Long played a big part in Handley's success on Saturday, completing his first six passes of the game, finishing 14-for-20 for 168 yards and a touchdown.
"I'm happy with how I played," Long said. "I wouldn't want this game any other way -- close, down to the wire -- because that's the way we've always played James Wood ever since I was in 8th grade. It's a good memory for a good game."
The Judges (10-0, 4-0 Northwestern) went 79 yards on their second possession of the game on 10 plays. The drive lasted more than five minutes and culminated with Long scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.
Handley's defense held James Wood to a three-and-out, and Kenny Griffin returned the ensuing punt to the James Wood 29. Long and the Judges didn't waste any time in striking again on offense.
Long connected with a wide-open David Carter in the corner of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown and a 12-0 lead with 10:10 left in the first half.
"I rolled out and it was really weird because I just felt like I was out there all by myself," Long said. "I just threw it to the corner of the end zone."
Handley's defense swarmed James Wood on its first three possessions, holding them without a first down and sacking quarterback Trae Tinsman three times.
While the Judges' defense was clicking, so was their offense. Another big punt return gave Handley the ball at the James Wood 37. Long did most of the work on the ensuing drive. First he ran on a keeper for 18 yards, then connected with Trae Peck for 12 yards through the air. Long capped the drive off with an 7-yard touchdown run to give Handley an 18-0 lead with 7:44 left in the first half. The Judges had all three of their extra points blocked.
"Offensively, I thought it was one of our better games," Handley coach Tony Rayburn said. "[Long] made great decisions. He threw the ball well. His receivers, obviously, helped him in making some excellent catches. The line protected well. It takes all those things to be successful throwing the ball and we were able to do that today."
James Wood's offense finally came to life on its next possession. The Colonels running game began to take off as they started having success running the ball up the middle.
The Colonels (6-4, 1-3) went 80 yards on 11 plays, all of them on the ground. Tinsman finished it off with a 5-yard run to cut the lead to 18-7 with 3:37 left in the first half.
"Some of older guys really took it upon themselves to get after Handley there in the second quarter," James Wood coach Mike Bolin said. "We ran up the middle on them. They have a lot of speed on the outside. Instead of trying to run away from them, we went right at them and it was successful."
James Wood took advantage of a Handley fumble on its first possession of the second half, but the Colonels had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Zach Lloyd with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
The Colonels were able to slow down Handley's offense in the second half, but James Wood continued to struggle offensively. James Wood's best opportunity came with less than five minutes left in the game. A Tinsman pass to Lloyd moved the ball to the Handley 46. On the next play, Peck leapt over James Wood's Harlan Robinson for an interception at the Handley 26.
"We pressured from the right side and that forced [Tinsman] to roll out," Peck said. "I drifted to the side he was rolling to and found the open receiver he was targeting and just picked it off.
"I jumped and I was just thinking 'I have to catch the ball.' I had to make a play. We needed to make a stop, because they were driving up the field. When I came down with it I was just glad I caught it."
James Wood got the ball back one last time, but couldn't get a first down.
Despite suffering their third-straight loss, the Colonels are still in the playoffs. They will play at Loudoun County in the Region II, Division 4 quarterfinals on Friday.
"I'm happy we're in the playoffs," Bolin said. "You hate to back in the way we did, but we're going to go after it like everybody's 0-0 now. Now's the time to play and have fun."
Handley will be the top seed in the Region II, Division 3 playoffs. They will have a bye next week and will host the winner of Friday's Millbrook-Goochland game on Nov. 21.
"That's great. That's made my senior year so far," Long said of the undefeated regular season. "That's something that nobody can take away. I'll be an old man and still be able to say that I was on a team that was 10-0."
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